“There is no going back now.” This is what Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) chief Bimal Gurung told The Telegraph in an interview from an undisclosed location on June 15. Gurung’s home was raided earlier that day and cash worth lakhs of rupees and weapons were recovered. The GJM immediately called for an indefinite strike, their supporters set fire to public properties, clashed with security forces led by three decorated Indian Police Service officers who were handpicked by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to establish order in Darjeeling.

In a sudden twist of fate, it appears to be a now or never situation for Gurung. He now realizes that to stay politically relevant he needs to take action. What he had failed to realise was that Mamata made his politics, along with him, irrelevant after the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) agreement was inked. He got this opportunity to fuel local anger with the latest state government directive of making Bengali language mandatory in the state. But in turn, he has given Mamata an opportunity to probably end the movement forever.

Six years ago it was a different picture, when the GTA agreement was signed by Mamata Banerjee, the GJM and the then home minister P Chidambaram. Every party seemed happy and Mamata’s government gleefully advertised the situation in Darjeeling with the phrase ‘Pahar Hasche’ [The Hills are smiling].

The GTA agreement does not talk about a separate state. It does not give legislative powers to the hill people. On the contrary, it gives similar powers as did the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council signed in 1988. The difference lies in the people who discussed and signed the deal. Jyoti Basu, the chief minister in 1988, was known for his ways to “manage” the opposition. He let Subhash Ghising, the then leader of the Gorkhaland movement, to be the de facto king of the hills, in lieu of peace.

Mamata Banerjee does not “manage” the opposition. After coming to power, she simply won over many opposition leaders using strong-arm tactics, but under the disguise of development. “We want to associate ourselves with the development ushered by Didi,” is the most common line taken by those who defect to TMC these days. But this does not necessarily mean that no development work has been done by her in Bengal, whether for optics or not.

After the GTA was signed, she started visiting Darjeeling frequently. A string of new programmes were inaugurated, including  rain water harvesting projects, a new skill development centre, a campus of Presidency College, a bio-technology hub and a new secretariat in Darjeeling a few days back, among others.

Mamata Banerjee also formed 15 development boards in the hills. These boards were categorised on ethnic lines: Gurungs, Tamangs, Lepchas, Mangars, Limbus. Almost every community got a board and state funding. The apparently benign move carried every potential to divide the hill people and weaken the Gorkhaland movement.

In between, Harkabahadur Chhetri, a prominent leader of GJM, left the party and formed his own political party, the Jan Andolan Party, in 2015. He contested the Kalimpong seat during 2016 Assembly elections forming an alliance with the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and won. Speculation was rife that he might merge his party with the TMC. When that did not happen, Mamata carved Kalimpong out of Darjeeling and made it a new district, citing the same catchword – Development. Opposition parties criticised this move decision alleging the intended political profit for TMC during polls.

Soon enough, elections were called for four municipalities – Darjeeling, Mirik, Kalimpong and Kurseong, to be held after more than 20 years, to be held on May 14, 2017. The fact of GJM being the de facto king of the hills was electorally challenged. JAP could not be won over after coercive attempts and Harkabahadur Chhetri said TMC was trying to break his party. As the results showed, Mamata’s frequent visits to the hills, announcement of development projects and horse trading had worked. Her party won the Mirik municipality. She reiterated the phrase- The Hills are smiling.

The results of the municipal elections came out a month back. Significantly, this was also the time when the TMC government announced that Bengali language has to be one of the languages under the three-language policy. The GJM understood that time was running out and sparked protests on the language issue. Bolstered with the election results and prompt in taking decisions, she used the opportunity to deploy her latest masterstroke by announcing an audit for the GTA citing irregularities and corruption and holding a secretariat meeting in Darjeeling.

Everything went according to how she might have ideally wanted. The Gorkha protest turned violent giving her another opportunity to unleash the prowess of the State; this time with the aid of the BJP-led Central government which was prompt in deploying the Army.

The BJP, both at the Centre and at the state level, has maintained a safe distance from the GJM, reiterating its stance of not allowing a division of the state. Significantly, the BJP itself had won the previous two general elections from the Darjeeling seat with the help of the former.

As GJM leaders run to Delhi seeking an audience with the top BJP leadership, Mamata Banerjee, known for her assertive administration, is not showing any interests in talks. On the contrary, the state government has already occupied the GTA headquarters and imposed a fine on GTA for the strikes, while the police round up GJM activists desperately looking for Bimal Gurung, who already has plenty of criminal cases (including the murder of Madan Tamang in Darjeeling) registered against him. Mamata Banerjee seems to be in total control, perhaps going for the decimation of the last strong opposition to the TMC in the state.

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